The invention relates generally to sporting goods and recreational products, and more particularly to an improved bodyboard for use in riding ocean surf.
Bodyboards are devices used for riding the waves on the seashore, somewhat akin to surfboards. In form, bodyboards are a contoured, elongated foam plank covered with an outer skin which, on the bottom of the board, is generally slick and somewhat stiff for enhancing planing on the surf.
Bodyboards are ridden in a prone or procumbent position, with one arm extending forwardly for gripping the nose and the other arm positioned in a trailing manner for gripping the side edge of the board. With the arms and hands thus positioned, the rider can push or pull against the engaged front or side edges to control the attitude of the board in the surf for steering or maneuvering. The rider's legs, which trail the board, also help in maneuvering.
The stiffness or rigidity of a bodyboard can affect its riding and control characteristics. For example, a highly rigid or stiff board tends to have greater speed than a board which is soft or easily bendable. A stiff boards maintains its shape, has less drag and is more suited to use in a lighter surf with small waves where increased speed is more important than control. A soft, flexible board is more controllable than a stiff board because its shape can be twisted and turned to increase friction and drag on selected parts of the board, which assists in steering and maneuvering. Soft boards tend to be used in stronger surf where control is more important than speed.
It would be advantageous for a bodyboard to include the speed characteristics of a stiff board and the controllability of a soft board. In particular, a bodyboard with such a mixture of characteristics would be desirable in moderate-surf regions where speed could be enhanced without sacrificing control. The present invention provides both excellent planing characteristics and control by providing for regions of different stiffness over the length of the board. In particular the invention provides a variable flexure bodyboard in which one portion of the length of the board, constituting approximately the rear two-thirds to four-fifths of the board, is stiff relative to the nose of the board. The variation in the flexure characteristics of the board is provided by a combination of reinforcing stiffening devices in the stiff portion of the board and bendability-enhancing channels in the unstiffened nose portion of the board.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bodyboard having different flexure and stiffness characteristics over selected predetermined regions of the board.
It is another object of the invention to provide a bodyboard in which the forward portion of the board, adjacent the nose, has enhanced flexibility and bendability yet is resistant to the formation of permanent creases or bends.
It is another object of the invention to provide a bodyboard which has the maneuverability of a relatively soft bodyboard and the speed of a relatively stiff bodyboard, due to selective stiffening of portions of the board.
Accordingly, the invention provides a bodyboard comprising an elongate, semi-rigid board structure which extends between a front nose end and rear tail end. The board structure has relatively less stiffness in a front portion of the board, adjacent the front end, and relatively greater stiffness in a second portion of the board extending generally rearwardly from the front portion. As a consequence, the front portion of the board has greater flexibility and bendability relative to the second portion of the board.
In its preferred form, the board structure includes a bottom skin which provides a planing surface and a top skin which provides a riding surface. Semi-rigid foam forms the major structural element between the top and bottom skins. Means are provided for stiffening a major portion of the length of the board from a region adjacent the tail to a region forward of the midpoint of the board, midway between the nose and tail ends. The stiffened portion, also referred to as the second portion of the board, incorporates the means for stiffening within the layered structure of the board. The stiffening means inhibits flexure and bending of the portion of the board in which it is installed. A forward bendable portion of the board, extending approximately from the nose end to the front edge of the stiffened portion, is unstiffened and relatively more flexible than the stiffened portion of the board. The unstiffened forward portion of the board facilitates bending and flexure of the region adjacent the nose.
In its preferred form, the means for stiffening is employed to stiffen approximately the rear two-thirds to four-fifths of the board by means of fiber mesh selectively embedded between the top skin and the semi-rigid foam core and between the bottom skin and the semi-rigid foam core. The bendability of the forward portion of the board is preferably enhanced by means of a plurality of parallel channels formed in the foam beneath the top skin of the board. The channels are arcuate and extend laterally across the board, arching toward the nose of the board. Such channels increase the bendability of the portion of the board in which they are formed while inhibiting permanent creasing of the board during use.